When I was a younger and more ambitious critic, I looked forward to compiling top 10 lists at the end of the year; the bottom 10, too. What better way to show off those intellectual biceps than by revisiting a previously reviewed show to deliver the final coup de grace or pat on the head, bolstered by the false wisdom of hindsight?

But with age comes ambiguity. Looking over this year's candidates, I realize I've lost the old verve for effusiveness and categorical thinking. I decided instead to assemble a list of 20 plays, musicals, ballets, dance concerts and other events that were significant in some way. Most of them beat expectations; a few underperformed. Some came out of nowhere to grab the spotlight. Here they are, in chronological order according to opening date, together with occasional excerpts from my reviews.

Jan. 13:"Topdog/Underdog" (South Coast Repertory): Suzan-Lori Parks' modern masterpiece about two brothers whose murderous fate is bound by circumstance received its long-overdue SCR premiere with a terrific cast – Larry Bates played Booth, and Curtis McClarin played Lincoln. "During its best moments, especially at the end of each act, this "Topdog" does what Parks intended: It reaches into your heart and squeezes it, hard."

Jan. 15:"Car Plays" (Segerstrom Center): The highlight of the Segerstrom Center's first Off Center Festival, these playlets were performed inside cars parked in the plaza in front of Segerstrom Hall. It was theater at its most gripping and elemental, and it redefined the cliché "in your face."

Feb. 3:"Elemeno Pea" (South Coast Repertory): Playwright Molly Smith Metzler has penned the perfect zeitgeist play about two working-class sisters who lock horns when one of them begins working for a rich couple. "Metzler stumbles a bit by painting some characters with an overly broad brush, but she shows a deft touch with surprises and lightning-fast changes of tone – two skills that elude many otherwise talented American playwrights."

Feb. 9:Ballet de Monte Carlo's "Cinderella" (Segerstrom Center): A bawdy, romantic and slightly revisionist take on the story of an abused girl looking for her prince, with gorgeous and elaborate sets that prove touring ballet companies don't have to slum it with flats that look like they were pulled out of a Chevy van.

Feb. 15:"The Jacksonian" (Geffen Playhouse): Beth Henley's new play is dark, disturbing and peppered with her talent for commingling disparate qualities – humor and horror, the divine and the mundane. It takes us to the time and place of Henley's youth: Jackson, Miss., during the turbulent Civil Rights era. The all-star Geffen cast included Bill Pullman, Ed Harris and his wife Amy Madigan.

March 14:"American Idiot" (Ahmanson Theatre): Based on the 2004 Green Day album of the same name, it's a true rock opera, bursting with the bristling emotional energy and painful yearnings that have distinguished the Bay Area punk band from countless others since its inception 25 years ago. The characters are painted with a roller brush and the story is over-familiar, but like all good art, "American Idiot" connects masterfully on a primal level.

March 16:"Sight Unseen" (South Coast Repertory): Donald Margulies' story about the elaborate dance between success and failure, which premiered at SCR in 1991, was a rich enough template to inspire two decades worth of exploration for the celebrated playwright. This revival confirmed the play's worth.

March 21:"Waiting for Godot" (Mark Taper Forum): Director Michael Arabian's "Godot" milked more mirth out of Samuel Beckett's study of tedium, slapstick comedy and quiet desperation than any interpretation I've ever seen. A cast of renowned Beckett experts included Irishman Barry McGovern as Vladimir and Alan Mandell as Estragon.

May 18: "Jitney" (South Coast Repertory): Part of August Wilson's 10-play series about black life in 20th-century America, "Jitney" focuses on a rascally group of illegal cab drivers in the 1970s. Director Ron OJ Parson and his talented cast reminded us of the tremendous gifts that Wilson, who died in 2005, created in his work for black actors of all ages.

July 3:"Warhorse" (Ahmanson Theatre): Magnificent life-size horse puppets and a compelling World War I setting combined in this masterful play about a boy and his steed. "It's a shameless tearjerker. But for students of theater – especially those who cherish the magic of stagecraft – this show is a must-see."

July 13:Stephen Sondheim (Segerstrom Center): The master composer-lyricist's long-delayed appearance in O.C. for a Q & A was worth the wait: low-key but candid, and punctuated with his songs, performed by Christine Ebersole and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Aug. 12:"Red" (Mark Taper Forum): On the screen as well as the stage, actor Alfred Molina has a gift for humanizing larger-than-life characters, making them credible and more sympathetic than expected. He was perfect for the role of painter Mark Rothko in John Logan's play about the cantankerous abstract expressionist.

Sept. 5:"The Book of Mormon" (Pantages Theatre): Overhyped? Sure. But beneath all the calculated effrontery, this story about Mormon missionaries who go to Africa with disastrous results is an old-fashioned musical with a sweet message at its heart: A good deed is its own reward. That's surprising, since the creative team is also the brains behind "South Park" and "Avenue Q."

National Ballet of Canada, “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion): Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's wildly creative yet largely faithful adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 tale, whose fantastical imagery and anthropomorphic creatures long ago became lodged permanently in the cultural consciousness. It was performed with the right balance of technical brilliance, comedy, acting and élan by Canada's premiere ballet company. BRUCE ZINGER
Scott J. Campbell, Van Hughes and Jake Epstein in “American Idiot.” Based on the 2004 Green Day album of the same name, it's a true rock opera, bursting with the bristling emotional energy and painful yearnings that have distinguished the Bay Area punk band from countless others since its inception 25 years ago. The characters are painted with a roller brush and the story is over-familiar, but like all good art, “American Idiot” connects masterfully on a primal level. PHOTO COURTESY CTG
John Hurt in the Gate Theatre Dublin production of “Krapp's Last Tape” at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. Hurt, 72, is now the perfect age to play theater's memorable old men: King Lear, Willy Loman, James Tyrone, and Samuel Beckett's cranky, taciturn writer, Krapp. In a portrayal that's been universally praised, Hurt gave a primer on the “less is more” approach to acting. RYAN MILLER, CAPTURE IMAGING
Benjamin Millepied's L.A. Dance Project (Walt Disney Concert Hall): It was billed as the return of a serious dance company and heady new choreography to L.A. But Merce Cunningham's "Winterbranch" (1964) was the lone success in an evening of three works that disappointed more than they delighted. (Pictured: choreographer Benjamin Millepied) PHOTO COURTESY DANCE AT THE MUSIC CENTER
Robert Foxworth and Robin Weigert in “Other Desert Cities” at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. Jon Robin Baitz's expertly crafted drama is his most ambitious work to date. Baitz attempts nothing less than an indictment of all the forces that have divided America for the last two generations, from Vietnam through the Iraq War. CRAIG SCHWARTZ
Jonathan Groff and Alfred Molina in the Tony-winning Donmar Warehouse production of “Red." On the screen as well as the stage, Molina has a gift for humanizing larger-than-life characters, making them credible and more sympathetic than expected. He was perfect for the role of painter Mark Rothko in John Logan's play about the cantankerous Abstract Expressionist. CRAIG SCHWARTZ
Rob Laqui, Derek Stratton and Christopher Mai in the national tour of the National Theatre of Great Britain production of “War Horse." Magnificent life-size horse puppets and a compelling World War I setting combined in this masterful play about a boy and his steed. It's a shameless tearjerker. But for students of theater – especially those who cherish the magic of stagecraft – this show is a must-see. PHOTO BY BRINKHOFF/MOEGENBURG
"The Book of Mormon" at the Pantages Theatre: Overhyped? Sure. But beneath all the calculated effrontery, this story about Mormon missionaries who go to Africa with disastrous results is an old-fashioned musical with a sweet message at its heart: a good deed is its own reward. That's surprising, since the creative team is also the brains behind “South Park” and “Avenue Q.” PHOTO COURTESY PANTAGE THEATRE
South Coast Repertory's production of "Elemeno Pea" by Molly Smith Metler, directed by Marc Masterson. Playwright Molly Smith Metzler has penned the perfect zeitgeist play about two working-class sisters who lock horns when one of them begins working for a rich couple. Metzler stumbles a bit by painting some characters with an overly broad brush, but she shows a deft touch with surprises and lightning-fast changes of tone – two skills that elude many otherwise talented American playwrights. PHOTO BY HENRY DIROCCO, SCR
“The Jacksonian” (Geffen Playhouse): Beth Henley's new play is dark, disturbing and peppered with her talent for commingling disparate qualities – humor and horror, the divine and the mundane. It takes us to the time and place of Henley's youth: Jackson, Miss., during the turbulent Civil Rights era. The all-star Geffen cast included Bill Pullman, Ed Harris and his wife Amy Madigan. Pictured: Ed Harris and Glenne Headly. PHOTO COURRTESY GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
“Jitney” (South Coast Repertory): Part of August Wilson's 10-play series about black life in 20th-century America, “Jitney” focuses on a rascally group of illegal cab drivers in the 1970s. Director Ron OJ Parson and his talented cast reminded us of the tremendous gifts that Wilson, who died in 2005, created in his work for black actors of all ages. PHOTO BY HENRY DIROCCO, SCR
“Car Plays” (Segerstrom Center): The highlight of the Segerstrom Center's first Off Center Festival, these playlets were performed inside cars parked in the plaza in front of Segerstrom Hall. It was theater at its most gripping and elemental, and it redefined the cliché “in your face." PHOTO COURTESY SCFTA
Stephen Sondheim (Segerstrom Center): The master composer-lyricist's long-delayed appearance in O.C. for a Q & A was worth the wait: low-key but candid, and punctuated with his songs, performed by Christine Ebersole and Brian Stokes Mitchell. PHOTO COURTESY SCFTA
“Topdog/Underdog” (South Coast Repertory): Suzan-Lori Parks' modern masterpiece about two brothers whose murderous fate is bound by circumstance received its long-overdue SCR premiere with a terrific cast – Larry Bates played Booth and Curtis McClarin played Lincoln. During its best moments, especially at the end of each act, this “Topdog” does what Parks intended: it reaches into your heart and squeezes it, hard. PHOTO COURTESY SCR
Teatro ZinZanni, “Love, Chaos & Dinner” (Segerstrom Center): This multidisciplinary tent show that blended dinner theater, cabaret, circus, comedy and music is significant because it showed that the Segerstrom Center is committed to providing alternative entertainment on the plaza on a regular basis. Together with last year's “Peter Pan” and the Off Center Festival, it's a sign that Segerstrom Center leader Terry Dwyer is determined to place his unique and relatively adventurous stamp on O.C.'s biggest arts institution. PHOTO COURTESY SCFTA

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